Lin Yanxi curiously peered downstairs and grabbed the waiter who was bringing food. "What's going on downstairs?"
The waiter served the dishes. Seeing that the distinguished guests were asking questions, he did not dare to slack off. "The capital has been restless lately. This is the third incident in the past few days."
"All three bodies drowned and were retrieved from the river. They say a water ghost has come to claim people. Oh my, I dare not say more. Enjoy your meal, honored guests. I'll be busy now."
Lin Yanxi put down her chopsticks and said to Si Yue, "Let's go and see what's happening."
Water ghost?
While the Yueyou clan had many special abilities and spirit mediums, specters didn't harm people without reason. Moreover, she had seen a trace of curse energy attached to the corpses from afar.
Luo Jingxin anxiously stopped Yanxi. "Xi'er, dead people are inauspicious. Don't go join the fun. Besides, our identities are special, and it's not appropriate to appear in public."
"It's alright, don't worry. I'll be back soon."
With her eyes curved and her expression bright and moving, she stood up briskly and walked out. As she passed Shen Muzhou, he grabbed her arm.
Shen Muzhou said in a cold voice, "I'll go with you."
Luo Jingxin's expression changed, and she grabbed Shen Muzhou's sleeve. "Muzhou."
He lowered his eyes, gazing at Luo Jingxin's watery eyes, his brow slightly furrowed.
Seeing this, Lin Yanxi said, "Your Highness the Ninth Prince should stay here and accompany Princess Zhaoyang. I can go by myself."
With that, she turned and walked downstairs. For some reason, her heart felt empty.
She quickened her steps, stumbled as she went downstairs, and almost fell. Her small body fell into a strong embrace that smelled faintly of dragon's saliva.
Shen Muzhou's chilling voice held a hint of teasing. "What, seeing this King, you're throwing yourself into my arms?"
A flush of red appeared on Lin Yanxi's fair and tender face. She pushed him away. "I'd throw myself to anyone but you!"
Why did he come? Wasn't he supposed to be with Luo Jingxin?
"Oh?"
His voice held displeasure. Lin Yanxi avoided his intimidating gaze and squeezed into the crowd.
Her small frame couldn't get through the crowd at all. Si Yue followed behind her, also trying to push her way in.
"His Highness the Ninth Prince is here—"
As soon as Xiao Liu's voice rang out, the commoners immediately quieted down, parted to the sides, and knelt to pay their respects. Their heads were buried low, afraid of getting into trouble.
Lin Yanxi stood among the kneeling crowd and rolled her eyes at him. He was quite capable of throwing his weight around.
Shen Muzhou gave a low "hmm," and the commoners scattered like startled birds.
The corpse before them was about thirty years old, a male. His skin was shriveled and clung to his body, his ribs on his abdomen clearly visible.
His eyes were upturned, unclosed in death. His lips were deathly pale, devoid of any blood. His skin was slightly wrinkled and rotten from being in the water.
Lin Yanxi hesitated. To confirm her suspicion, she stepped forward and gently lifted his withered arm, examining his fingers carefully.
Shen Muzhou glanced at the corpse, his attention shifting to Lin Yanxi.
The sunlight shone on her young, fair face. Her eyelashes were long and slender. She had a serious expression as she examined the corpse, but her delicate and lively features made her look less stern.
She wasn't being delicate now.
The corners of his lips unconsciously curved into a smile.
All of this was seen by Luo Jingxin from upstairs. A few days ago, the informant she had placed in the prince's mansion reported that Shen Muzhou was injured. When she went to the mansion, Shen Muzhou was already seriously injured and unconscious.
She had paid a hefty price to find a doctor and, disregarding the gender barrier, had taken care of him day and night.
To move him and make him feel indebted to her, she had even cut her wrist and told Shen Muzhou that she had saved his life with her blood as medicine.
When Shen Muzhou woke up, he coldly asked her what she wanted. What could she want? It was just that he would look at her more, that he wouldn't always keep her at arm's length.
But what she couldn't obtain through pleading, Lin Yanxi had easily snatched away.
Shen Muzhou saw Lin Yanxi put down the deceased's arm and asked, "What did you find?"
Lin Yanxi pondered for a moment and said, "I surmise that ordinary drowning victims would struggle desperately when they are dying, so they would swallow a large amount of water, and their abdomen would bulge."
"When struggling, their limbs would involuntarily curl and bend, and there would inevitably be residual mud and sand under their fingernails."
"But his fingers are stiff and straight, his nails are clean, and his abdomen is flat. I suspect he didn't drown, and..."
Lin Yanxi stopped speaking, glanced at the people around, and leaned closer to Shen Muzhou. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "There is curse energy on him."
Judging by the state of decomposition of this person's body, he didn't seem to have been in the lake for many days. But wasn't that curse master already killed by Shen Muzhou?
How could there still be a faint trace of curse energy attached?
Luo Jingxin saw the two of them leaning close from upstairs and angrily threw a cup to the ground. Dare to snatch her man? Then let's see who the final winner is.
Behind her was the An Chang Prince's Mansion.
Shen Muzhou saw Lin Yanxi's concern and comforted her, "I will have the coroner check the time of death before drawing a conclusion."
Lin Yanxi nodded. "That's the only way."
Her gaze inadvertently fell upon a small boy in the corner of the alley. It was Hei Jin.
She walked into the alley with delight. "Hei Jin, we meet again. Have you recovered from your illness?"
Hei Jin stood in the shadows, his expression stiff. He nodded unnaturally.
Shen Muzhou followed Lin Yanxi into the alley. He looked at Hei Jin, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar.
Hei Jin ignored Lin Yanxi and took two steps forward, his hands clasped behind his back. "Your Highness the Ninth Prince."
His voice was childlike. He lowered his eyes, not looking at Shen Muzhou, and when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with killing intent.
Lin Yanxi gasped when she saw what Hei Jin was holding. "Shen Muzhou!"
Hei Jin was holding a sharp knife behind his back.
Without any hesitation, he stabbed Shen Muzhou in the abdomen. The tip of the knife was instantly stained with blood, which dripped onto the ground along the blade.
Shen Muzhou clutched his wound and pushed with his palm. Hei Jin's shoulder took a palm strike. As he was just a child, he immediately fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Liu and Si Yue heard Lin Yanxi's scream and rushed towards the courtyard, but before they could enter the alley, they were blocked by a group of men in black and started fighting.
Lin Yanxi stepped forward to support Shen Muzhou, frantically pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding.
"Hei Jin, who sent you?" Lin Yanxi's hands covering the wound trembled slightly.
Hei Jin glared at them venomously and said fiercely, "He killed my father, but it doesn't matter. Only by killing him can my father come back!"
Shen Muzhou's eyes deepened. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he asked, "Who is your father?"
"You've killed too many people, of course, you don't remember! My father only went into the salt trade out of necessity. What about you? You all have enough to eat and wear, so you think living diligently is also a sin!"
Lin Yanxi's eyes widened. Hei Jin, a child of only ten, could say such things.
The common people lived in hardship and complained about taxes. Therefore, the treasury of the Southern Min was not abundant.
It was her father who proposed that since collecting taxes from the common people was difficult, some special items should be made exclusive to the court, which could increase the treasury's income.
This method effectively solved the treasury problem but not the root cause. The common people still went hungry, and even the most basic commodity, salt, became scarce.
Xiao Liu fought his way through and entered the courtyard. Seeing the scene, he did not hesitate to put his knife to Hei Jin's throat.
Shen Muzhou said in a deep voice, "Stop!"
Supported by Lin Yanxi, he slowly walked to Hei Jin and said, "No matter who misled you, the dead cannot be resurrected."
Hei Jin's emotions suddenly broke down, and tears welled up in his eyes. "It's impossible. He promised me he would bring my father back. My father will come back."
Lin Yanxi sighed silently. In fact, Hei Jin probably understood the reality that when a person dies, their light goes out. However, his obsession with his loved one made him cling to a sliver of hope.
Shen Muzhou raised his hand, signaling Xiao Liu to let Hei Jin go.
Xiao Liu hesitated. "Your Highness!"
Shen Muzhou turned around and paused before saying, "You failed to kill me this time. When you grow up, come find me to avenge yourself and seek justice for your father."
---
Mu Prince's Mansion.
This was Lin Yanxi's first time at Shen Muzhou's residence. The mansion was large but desolate.
Square gray-blue houses, not a single tree in the courtyard. She kicked at the small pebbles on the ground, her eyes occasionally glancing at the closed doors.
Attendants carried fabrics and basins in and out. They were clean when they went in and stained with soiled blood when they came out.
After another attendant came out with a basin of bloody water, Lin Yanxi finally couldn't help it. She stopped him and asked, "How is Shen Muzhou?"
She didn't want to come to the prince's mansion, especially with Luo Jingxin there. However, Shen Muzhou seemed to be seriously injured and was leaning on her, unable to stand up. She also felt that Shen Muzhou's injury was partly her fault.
It was she who insisted on saving Hei Jin that day. Now, the matter at Quanjing Village might have been deliberately led by Hei Jin to attract them.
It seemed she had indirectly caused Shen Muzhou to be injured, which made her feel uneasy.
The attendant had never seen Lin Yanxi before. Hearing her call the Prince by his name, his pupils contracted. However, since she was supporting the Prince back, the attendant dared not be disrespectful.
"Replying to your noble self, Your Highness was previously severely injured. Coupled with his internal cold ailment, fortunately, the wound is not deep. The mansion physician and the imperial physician are both treating him. You need not worry too much."
The attendant was about to leave after replying but was stopped by Lin Yanxi again. "Injured? When did he get injured?"
The attendant paused, realizing he had misspoke. In the prince's mansion, not all words could be spoken carelessly.
Xiao Liu then came out of the room and said, "He was injured in Quanjing Village."
The attendant glanced at Xiao Liu's expression. Fortunately, Xiao Liu did not scold him for speaking out of turn. He quickly took the basin and slipped away.
Xiao Liu had never understood why His Highness would get injured while saving Miss Lin Er, and yet he wouldn't say a word to her.
He had never seen the Prince so concerned about any woman, not even Princess Zhaoyang, whom he kept at a distance.
It was rare that he had finally taken a liking to a young lady, and His Highness was so slow on the uptake, so of course, he needed to give him a good push.
Xiao Liu sighed. "Miss Er, just on account of the times you and His Highness have faced life and death together, please wait for His Highness to wake up before leaving."
Lin Yanxi nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
While they were talking, the mansion physician rushed out of the room anxiously and said to Xiao Liu, "This is bad! His Highness's bleeding won't stop!"